Monday, 21 January 2013

A new version of Weight Recorder, the diet tracking app, has been released with new exciting features.

Import Data

James Rendek requested that the app should let you import data as well as exporting data. To implement this I decided to let the user copy and paste their data directly into the app. Example data here:

93.70,2012-12-23
11:00:00,"pigged out on hot dogs after the pub"
94.80,2012-12-24 11:00:00,""
94.40,2012-12-26 11:00:00,""The idea is that you would open up the text file or email containing the data, select all, copy and then paste into the app:

Since this is raw data and I consider that it is important that data should be stored in a standard format so that it can be easily exchanged, there are several points to note.

Weights are expressed in kilograms, the international standard unit for mass. To convert to pounds multiply by 2.20462 in your spreadsheet.

The date / time has the following format: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss. Note that 24 hour clock is used. No time zone information is stored.

Comments are enclosed in quotation marks

Fields are separated by commas and each weight reading starts on a new line (\n).

If these restrictions are too inconvenient, please drop me an email and I'll try to accommodate extra settings such as expressing weight in pounds.

Stones and Pounds

Adrian Smith requested the British (and Irish) weight units Stones and Pounds. In Britain people quote their weight in stones, for example 14 stone and 9 pounds which is same as 205lb.

The difficulty here is that I didn't want two text fields, one for stones the other for pounds. In the end I designed a custom number picker that displays the weight in the correct units and format. You can now adjust the weight by small amounts (1 pound or 0.1kg) or press the button showing the weight to enter it as a decimal number. I've removed the speech for text feature for entering numbers as I can't see it been particularly useful.

What's Next?

Kevin Diles has request a paid version of the app without any ads. After researching Android App development I reckoned there was no hope for paid apps on Android, but it looks like I was wrong.

In the next few weeks I'll put together a pro version of Weight Recorder with Admob removed. I'll also make the import and export features only available in the pro version so that users at least get some extra value for their money. Charges will be $0.99, £0.99 or €0.99 depending on country. The difficult part will be sorting out tax codes...

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

An optional trend line is now shown on the chart so that you see how your diet is going over time. The line is drawn using the best line of fit over the selected range of data points.

The report screen now shows your ideal weight range based on the BMI Normal range. The trend analysis also tells you whether you're gaining or losing weight.

Andreas Weichert (creator of the excellent Time Sheriff app) has suggested using Google's Speech to Text in the data entry screens. You can now speak your weight! To be honest I find it a little tricky to use, to enter 92.4 kg, you need to say nine - two - point - four. I found that when the units are in pounds, I struggled to say for example 202.7 lbs.

The data entry screen now shows the last weight reading entered (also Andreas' idea) and returns you to the dashboard when you press the add button.Coming Soon

James Rendek has requested a feature to be able to import data into the application. This is a great idea and one that I want to be able to get implemented for the next release. Having considered several methods I propose to allow the user to cut and paste their data (in CSV format) into the application. This method avoids using the file system which has several pitfalls.

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Just in time for all of those diets, Weight Recorder has been released! The app allows you to enter your daily weight measurements so that you can keep your diet on track. Your data can be viewed as a chart, a list of readings or a statistical / trend analysis report. Importantly your data is easily exported via email so that you can view it in Excel or any other spreadsheet.

The idea for the app came when I purchased a set of bathroom scales and I began entering my weight into a spreadsheet. There must be an app for that? There are several excellent apps already available on Android but there is room for improvement. Looking at the user ratings, several people asked to be able to write comments when entering their measurements. This is quite a good idea as you can make notes about any dieting activities, eg 'I did an hour extra at the gym today'.

Weight Recorder has a dashboard design that allows you to navigate easily between activities. Other apps I noticed seem to cram to many features and buttons into one or two activities. My philosophy is to keep things simple and I did this by dedicating each activity to a single function, eg the chart activity just shows the chart.

The data is stored in an SQLite database which is part of the Android OS. This means that the data storage is more robust and secure than say simply storing it in a file. As mentioned above, it is important in my opinion to allow the user full access to their data so that they can make back ups and share with other applications. Currently weight recorder will allow the user to send their data via email, in a csv (comma separated values) text format which can be easily read by a spreadsheet and human alike. Also available are the standard CRUD functions that allow you to create, read, update and delete readings from the database.

Like CleverDic releases will come often with new exciting features and updates. Already in the pipeline are trend and BMI plot lines for the chart.

Over Christmas CleverDic has been receiving more than 120 daily downloads. December was by far the most successful month which saw release 1.10 of the app and much more effort towards app store search optimization.

About Me

Pig Dog Bay was born in an inn deep in the Staffordshire moorlands. He lived in a small box under the pool table and was fed on pork scratchings left in the ash trays.

One day a raucous rock band called Motorhead played at the inn causing mayhem, so Pig Dog spied his chance and had it away on his trotters.

The nights were cold and after many days of trotting, a weary Pig Dog took shelter in a green house where big ripe tomatoes grew. The next day the owners son spotted Pig Dog and took pity on the hungry creature. Together they played computer games on a dusty old ZX Spectrum, eventually the son left and Pig Dog was all alone. Dabbing at the rubber keys, Pig Dog had made a computer program:

PIG DOG BAY

PIG DOG BAY

PIG DOG BAY

Whizzed up the screen. This pleased Pig Dog greatly. Many years later the son returned and was so happy to see his old friend, he gave Pig Dog his Google Nexus 7. Pig Dog squealed with glee and now wanted to show the world his little apps.